In lighting control systems with networked lighting devices such as, for example and without limitation, luminaires having light sources such as Light Emitting Diodes (LED's), sensors, and network communication gateways, each of the lighting devices and their associated network addresses must be correctly identified to facilitate among other things, initialization, location and group identification, maintenance, and lighting control. For purposes of this disclosure, “networked” means generally and without limitation part of an identification or control system that may be automatically or remotely controlled. In typical, known lighting control systems, operational configuration and control generally includes manually identifying a device such as a luminaire and/or a light source including the associated driver for the light source, manually assigning the device to its physical location, manually grouping the device within a group of devices in close proximity that may together coordinate control of lumen levels in an environment in which the luminaires are physically located, setting dimming control protocols according to, for example, manufacturers' recommendations, manually monitoring operation of the device, manually testing the device for sufficient lumen performance, replacing the device when required, etc. For purposes of this disclosure, a “driver” is generally and without limitation a device or system that controls illumination of a luminaire—such as a dimming control interface—but may also refer to any component that actuates a device, system, or method consistent with this disclosure. For purposes of this disclosure, “environment” means generally and without limitation a space or area in which a luminaire or lighting system is installed.
Known methods for identifying luminaires and/or other associated components include, for example, manually copying an identification (ID) number and/or removing a physical, detachable printed ID label from a lighting device and placing it on a floorplan to manually record the device's location. The detachable printed ID label may be a scan-able image or code sticker for physical affixation to the floorplan. The ID number and/or label is taken from the device upon installation and manually added to a floorplan or an installation drawing depicting the location. The floorplan/installation drawing may then be used to identify the device during commissioning, configuring, and/or maintaining the system. This manual process is time consuming and does not allow dynamic configuration and control of the lighting system because each lighting component ID must be ascertained, recorded, and associated with the type, technical details, and physical location of the individual lighting component. The process does not, for example, automatically or dynamically identify, configure, group, and/or set dimming protocols for replacement lighting components even where the replacements are the same brand and type with different manufacturing tolerances.
For purposes of this disclosure, “automated” or “automatically” means generally and without limitation, performed substantially without manual intervention, for example from a human operator.
For purposes of this disclosure, “dynamic” means generally and without limitation automatically adjustable or configurable in response to one or more changes in conditions.
Another identification method is to use barcodes or other scan-able ID media to identify a lighting device with, for example, a manual barcode scanning device. In one example of this process, a barcode associated with the lighting device is manually removed from the lighting device and affixed to a representative location for the device on a floorplan/installation drawing. The barcode may be manually scanned, for example with a handheld tool, and a human operator may use the lighting device information associated with the barcode to enter or update information within a software-based commissioning application. Alternatively, the barcode may be scanned with a costly, high-resolution camera that requires zoom functions and other features to effectively read a barcode from a handheld tool that a human operator must use from a relatively far distance compared to the location of the luminaire itself. This process still requires time consuming manual handling of the barcode or expensive components and data entry and does not dynamically and/or automatically integrate lighting devices into the lighting control system as previously described.
A further method is to use a “service pin” on the lighting device. A service pin is a physical button on one or more associated lighting devices (such as a luminaire) that initiates a commissioning protocol for the device(s). The commissioning protocol, among other things, retrieves a unique network address of the lighting device—such as the luminaire—and displays the network address to a user (e.g., on a user interface) for manual entry in a lighting/location commissioning tool. The process therefore requires time consuming manual aspects and does not dynamically or automatically integrate lighting devices into the lighting control system.
A still further lighting device identification method is to use a wink function to facilitate observational identification of luminaires particularly with networked Digital Addressable Lighting Interface (DALI®) addressed devices. In an example of this process, a software-based commissioning application or tool may scan the lighting control network to detect devices that have not previously been located in the lighting system. Each device that has not been previously located is “winked,” i.e., flashed on and off. A user may physically observe the winking and manually assign each winking device to a physical location and associated network address. Once again, this process requires time-consuming user intervention and does not include an automated dynamic lighting device configuration aspect.
As discussed above, the time and labor expended on manual lighting control system configuration can be extensive especially for lighting control networks in large spaces such as floors, buildings, and beyond. In addition, lumen (LED) degradation due to testing procedures, age, or changing environmental conditions may change the overall lumen level of the environment in which the luminaires are installed and require manual adjustments to the remaining luminaires to re-establish the overall lumen level in the environment. This, too, can be a time consuming process with no specific procedure for achieving the overall lumen level of the environment in the most efficient manner possible. For purposes of this disclosure, “environment” means generally and without limitation a space or area in which one or more luminaires or lighting systems is installed.
Further, with the emergence of Internet of Things (IoT)-based lighting control systems, e.g., networked or “smart” lighting control systems that have integrated control capabilities and are communicatively connected to data servers, cloud servers, internet storage, mobile devices, apps, and/or other network-connected programs, etc., provide a method of identifying lighting devices and their associated configurations and properties to efficiently integrate the lighting devices into the networks and systems of which they form a part. However, this technique does not provide an automated dynamic device, system, or method capable of reading a barcode and generating information regarding the type, location, and dimming profile of the luminaire, among other things.
In view of the above, exemplary devices, systems, and methods for automated dynamic lighting device initialization, configuration, and maintenance, among other things, are disclosed.